LONG BEACH — A nine-year officer with the Long Beach Police Department has been arrested for possession of child pornography, police announced late Thursday.

Officer Noe Yanez, 40, was arrested by police at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, according to jail records.

The arrest came following an investigation into his alleged inappropriate contact with a minor, which, according to police, began with text messages and the solicitation of inappropriate photographs.

Police launched an investigation after the minor reported the conduct to a school resource officer earlier this month. A Long Beach Unified School District spokesman said Friday school resource officers are only placed at high schools.

Yanez was being held at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail on $20,000 bail. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Justice System Integrity Division will handle the prosecution.

The officer has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the continuing criminal and internal affairs investigations.

"Not only are the actions of this officer a violation of the law, they are a violation of the community's trust, and a violation of the principles of this Department," Chief Jim McDonnell said in a written statement. "The men and women of this Department take great pride in the good work they do everyday with the community, and we will not allow the actions of this one officer to compromise that relationship."

Yanez was listed in court documents obtained by the Press-Telegram during the "donning and doffing" class action lawsuit filed by Long Beach police officers against the city in 2009.

The suit, which sought compensation for allegedly unpaid time doing routine tasks, was settled when the city agreed to give 47 vacation hours to about 900 current and former officers and pay $300,000 in attorney fees.

Yanez's name is on a numbered list of pre-shift activities. He requested pay for shaving.

It was almost exactly one year ago that another member of the Long Beach police force was arrested for similar crimes.

On April 27, 2011, Long Beach Police Detective Erik Alvarez was arrested in his hometown of Upland for having sex with an underage female relative. The then-42-year-old, who at the time of his arrest worked in the department's Youth Services Division, was sentenced to two years in state prison in August.

Alvarez resigned from the Police Department following his arrest, according to authorities.

Anyone with information about the Yanez case may contact the Long Beach Police Department Sex Crimes Detail Tip Line at 562-570-7878. Anonymous tips may be submitted via text or email by visiting www.tipsoft.com.